Battle to be Shaman King
by suDDen-ePiPhany
Summary: Ren falls in love. Choco’s on his way to become a comedian. Horo is forced into an arranged marriage. Ryu’s the Funbari Inn’s chef. Faust is the doctor. Anna’s pregnant. But Yoh’s still Yoh. The Shaman Tournament resumes. And Hao comes back from the dead.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Ren Tao in Love?

"Ren you should stop and come celebrate the new year with us," Jun tried hard to persuade her brother to join the festivities. He ignored her and continued training.

"Come on. It'll be fun and you can get your mind off of-"

"That's enough. Leave," Ren cut off his sister. He sat up and wiped away the sweat on his face with a nearby towel.

"I'm not going to the festival. I think I'm just going to take a walk through the mansion," Ren stated as he got up to shower. Jun watched helplessly as her brother lifelessly exited the room.

"All I want is for you to be happy," she whispered as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Ren walked through the vacant hallways of the Tao Mansion in a pensive trance. The Shaman Tournament had been suspended a year ago with no king, although he was absolutely positive that Yoh would have won. When Ren had returned to China, he resumed schooling, which he passed with flying colors, and then constantly went about his harsh training everyday. His existence was so boring and he was beginning to feel obsolete.

A large metal door caught his eye, dragging him out of his thoughts. He stared at it curiously. The door creaked as he slowly twisted the knob and pulled it open. Inside he could see a stone tomb, and behind it a white staff enclosed in a glass box. He stepped into the dark room, walking past the stone tomb, and proceeding to glass box. The white metal of the staff was twisted until it bent into the shape of a heart where a crystal clear orb was embedded in the middle. Ren reached out and touched the glass, but retracted his arm as it shocked him. Then suddenly he heard a screech of rubbing stone.

He turned to find a mysterious woman standing in the open tomb. Her skin was a tanned bronze despite the darkness of the room, and her hair was short and red-orange. She wore a short, black, vest-like dress closed over her body by a red strip of cloth around her waist. Beneath that were tight, black shorts and sandals that laced up her legs. Ren slowly made his way to face her from the front. She seemed to be asleep. Her eyes were closed and she was completely still. He jumped back as her eyes shot open, revealing solid, empty, black eyes.

"Who are you," Ren asked coldly. The woman didn't answer. Ren repeated his question, but she still showed no sign of life. Ren gave up and sighed as he began to exit the room.

"You are a Tao, correct," a female voice asked when he reached the door. Ren turned quickly and found the woman's black eyes staring at him.

"What of it," he replied. She stepped out of the tomb gracefully and walked towards him, one of her arms outstretched. Right as was about to speak a punch sent him flying out into the hall.

"What the hell," Ren cursed as he hastily got up.

"You will die at my hands," the mysterious woman said impassively. Ren grinned.

"Try and kill me then," he provoked her. She smirked and her eyes suddenly turned blood red. Before Ren could react, the woman was behind him and held a small dagger to his throat.

"Game over," she whispered. Ren sighed and shook his head. In a matter of seconds he sent the woman flying over the railings and spiraling down towards the ground. He turned in satisfaction as he heard the thud come from the lower level.

"Easy as pie," Ren grinned, but his expression changed as he narrowly dodged a dagger that flew past his face.

"I underestimated you, but you will die," the woman appeared behind him, floating just outside the railings.

"Mother, I just hate seeing him suffer like this. He's so lonely. I think that we should send him back to Japan," Jun told her mother, Ran.

"He will protest against it. You know that," Ran replied. Jun hesitated as she searched through her thoughts for the right response. Then the two of them heard the sound of an explosion come from the west side of the mansion.

"What was that," Jun asked out loud as the two women stood up from their chairs. The door swung open and En stomped in.

"It came from the west end. Ren is in serious trouble. We'd better hurry," Jun's father said.

"What is it," Jun asked, ignoring the last part of her father's suggestion.

En hesitated, "It's Erida, Goddess of Hate and War," he answered. Jun didn't quite understand.

_A goddess? Here in the mansion? No way. The Tao's were never THAT strong,_ Jun thought to herself. "What are you saying," she questioned her father.

"Long ago the Almighty One threw the Erida down to Earth to repay her debt. She created chaos, violence, wars, and fed off of the hate that people held for one another. She was out of control, so our ancestors decided to fight against her and successfully sealed her into a stone tomb. They built a shrine around her tomb and later built this mansion around that tomb. Since Ren has now awakened her, we must fight to seal her once again," her father finished the story gloomily.

"I going to help him. Assemble your army of jiang-si. If this tale of yours is true, then he'll need help," Jun voiced her opinion to her father.

"Jun, she can do what we can and so much more. Don't underestimate her," En tried to warn his daughter. But as another explosion came for the west end, Jun exited the room to rescue her little brother.

"What's the plan Miss Jun," Bailong asked as he ran up behind her.

"I don't know yet, but we've got company," Jun answered as she came to a halt. A group of jiang-si blocked the hallway leading to the explosions.

"Let's go," she shouted as they began a brawl with the jiang-si.

"Die," she stated calmly, as she smiled and ran her dagger across her hand. Blood spilled to the floor.  
Ren gasped for breath as he got up from the floor. _Who is this woman? Why is she here,_ Ren asked himself. He tightened the grip on his glaive and ran towards her in a frontal attack.

"Wrong move," the Goddess leered and sent a blast of blinding light at Ren. When it finally dissipated, Ren was lying on the floor and En was standing at one end of the hallway. Jun entered on the other side of the hallway and the two of them began closing in on her. The Goddess began to laugh.

"I'm glad you're here. Now there are more of you for me to kill," she screeched. Twenty jiang-si suddenly jumped up from below the railings and flew to her protection. The fight began and Ren got up to join in.  
About ten minutes later En, Jun, and Ren lay on the floor struggling to stand up. The Goddess laughed maniacally stepping towards En with the intent to murder. "Bailong, Sha-Wen kill the other two," she commanded.

Then it all happened in a split second. Bailong picked up a gun from one of the defeated jiang-si and shot a bullet at the Goddess, who failed to dodge it. Blood spurted from the wound and she fell to the floor unconscious.

"Are you all right Miss Jun," Bailong asked worriedly, dropping the gun as he bent down to help his green-haired mistress. She nodded and leaned on him as she stood up. Ren forced his legs to hold him straight up as he clutched the railings for support.

"En," Ran came running from the darkness to tend to her husband.

"Huh? Where am I," asked a timid voice. The five of them stared incredulously at the woman who just got shot in the head.

"We have to seal her now," En commanded. But his body would not allow him to make any more movement.

"We can't. The stone tomb is broken," he replied weakly. Jun stared at the Goddess, who stared back at the four family members in a daze.

"Bring me to her," she ordered Bailong. He hesitated but obeyed. Jun knelt down to come face-to-face with the Goddess. "Who are you," she inquired casually. The Goddess looked more like a normal girl now. Her eyes were still black, but they twinkled with innocence instead of danger. In fact her whole facial expression had changed, along with her composure.

"I don't know," she answered slowly.

_She's lost all her memories. We should be safe…for now. I have an idea; _Jun thought to herself for a few moments and then quickly executed her decision.

"Everything's going to be okay, Erida. Um…you're here visiting for the New Year festival. And I think we should take care of that wound in your head," Jun told her genuinely with no regards to the previous event.

The girl raised her hand to touch her head and was alarmed at the amount of blood that stained her hand. Tears began to well up in her eyes and she looked up at Jun with frightened eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of you," Jun reassured Erida.

-Months Later-

"Why are you always out here," Erida asked as she walked up beside Ren. The two of them stood at the edge of the pond behind Tao Mansion wrapped in the darkness of a mountain midnight.

"The stars shine beautifully here," he replied. Erida looked up to see billions of sparkles across the velvet sky. "They'll shine their light on a path I should take," Ren continued. Erida stared at him. Suddenly, she grabbed his hand and pulled him to follow after her.

"Where are you dragging me to," Ren asked, irritated. Erida just smiled and kept running. She came to a stop a few minutes later at an opening to a grove of small trees.

"Come on," she whispered as she walked through the trees and laid down on the grass in the middle. A confused Ren followed her.

"Lay down," she commanded him. Ren obeyed, curious to find out what Erida was trying to do.

"Look up. Do you see anything," the red-haired girl asked him. Ren stared at the empty black sky above him. "No stars," Erida answered her own question. She was right. There was nothing there.

"Earlier you said that you're waiting for the stars to light your path, but you don't have to wait," Erida said softly. Ren looked over at her. "You can shine a light on your own path. Make your own life what you want it to be. Just like how the sky above us chooses to be dark and starless, yet it's still just as beautiful as a starry night," Erida finished, smiling to the sky.

Ren was speechless. And as he stared at Erida a weird, warm, fuzzy feeling filled his chest. Silence roared through the moment as he laid there next to a Goddess who had tried to kill him previously.

"Ren," Erida said as she sat up facing away from him. She heard him sit up behind her. "I don't know how to say this. And it might be bad. No, it can't be," she began to argue with herself but stopped and hugged her knees close to her body. "Ren, I love you," she whispered.

Ren stared at Erida's back. _Am I supposed to reciprocate her feelings? How do I even feel about her? Do I l-lo…like her? She did try to kill me once. But she's different now. Maybe there's a chance. What am I thinking? Love is for the weak. _So many thoughts and memories crossed through his mind. But he still didn't know how to respond.

"I'm going back," he finally replied, standing up to leave. Erida looked up and watched as he walked away, a single tear rolling down her tan cheek.

"It wouldn't have been normal for you to say you love me anyways," she whispered to herself as she got up to follow him back to the mansion.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Has Choco lost his dream?

"Choco! Hurry up and get that tray of food out there!" the manager shouted impatiently. Choco flinched but quickly picked up a tray, accidentally spilling some spaghetti sauce on his white uniform. The manager sighed and shook his head but decided not to say anything, so Choco left the kitchen to serve table twelve.

"Here's your food, Choco smiled at the four people sitting, skillfully twirled the tray before setting it down.

"That was awesome," cried the little boy.

"Bon appetite," Choco said charmingly before returning to the kitchen.

"Hey Mr. Smith, I was wondering if I could perform on the stage tomorrow night," Choco asked his manager after work that day.

"I don't know Choco. I already had another act planned and," but Mr. Smith was cut off by the ringing of his cell phone. "Hello," he answered the call, holding up a finger to the waiter. Choco watched as Mr. Smith's expression darkened and he grunted, "okay."

"What's wrong," Choco asked concerned

"The band that was coming for tomorrow night can't make it," he answered gravely.

Choco's lips spread into a wide smile and he asked, "So you have no one else booked for tomorrow right?" Mr. Smith sighed and nodded, suspicious of the hope disguised behind the concern in his voice. "Well you know," Choco began, "I could perform if it's alright with you."

"I guess," Mr. Smith sighed yet again.

"So just for clarification, is that a yes," Choco asked trying to contain his excitement. Mr. Smith answered ("Yes.") and Choco's chest burst with happiness. "Thank you, thank you. I just can't thank you enough," Choco cried out happily.

"Don't disappoint me," Mr. Smith said with a friendly smile.

"And by the way," Choco said on his way out the door, "I'll be inviting a few friends." And before Mr. Smith could reply, Choco was out the door.

"Hey Mic," I have my very first gig tomorrow," Choco spoke to the air beside him. A golden jaguar suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Choco loosened and tightened his bow tie nervously. In ten minutes he would be up on a real stage in front of a real audience, and for some odd reason he couldn't think of anything funny.

He quickly peeked out through the black curtains and his stomach did flip-flops repeatedly. When he peeked out again, he saw his old gang sitting at one table. The six of them stuck out like a sore thumb in the crowd of people. But they had tried hard to change their ways and had, in a manner of speaking, succeeded.

"Now I am happy to bring up to the stage Chocolove, a comedian right out of our own staff," the announcer introduced him to the crowd dining below. Choco nervously walked up to the stage and cleared his throat, a glass of water sat on the stool in front of him.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I hope you're enjoying the food. And man I gotta tell you, I went to a seafood disco last night and pulled a mussel," Choco paused awaiting a laugh from the crowd. But the only sound was forced laughter from the table where his old gang sat. "Um, so me and my brother broke the elevator at the mall. Needless to say, we were grounded." Choco began to sweat as the eerie silence filled the room. His mind was running and he couldn't get his train of thoughts going.

"Mahatma Gandhi walked barefoot most of the time, which made an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him a super callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis," Choco told his next joke, but only received a small, stifled laugh. His bow tie seemed to be tightening around his neck and he tried to stretch it as his mind raced to think of something funny.

"Um, aw man," Choco cried out looking at the ground in front of him, "I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure." No laughs came. He was getting desperate. "Did you hear the one about the man who dreamed he was a muffler on a car and then a part of the wheel?" He paused for effect. "He woke up exhausted and tired." Choco smiled ruefully. "Knock knock," He whispered into the microphone.

Someone in the crowd loudly booed. Choco was starting to feel light-headed. The room was spinning and he closed his eyes to make it stop. "Get off the stage!" Someone yelled. Another person shouted, "You suck!" And then it all happened in slow motion. The sound of chairs hitting the floor and people screaming echoed throughout the room. One of his friends had gotten up and was holding a gun to the head of one of the customers. Needless to say, the other five of them followed.  
"Say that again and you'll be sleeping with the fishes," the man with the gun threatened. The man at the point of the gun trembled and stared at the floor.

"Mike," Choco shouted jumping off the stage. "There's no need for that here. Put the gun away." His friend hesitated but obeyed.

"Choco! You're fired!" Mr. Smith came storming out of the kitchen screaming.

"But Mr. Smith," Choco began but never had the chance to finish.

"I want you out of here now," the manager ordered sternly. "You and your gangsters get out of here!"

Choco's head drooped and he obediently left. His six friends followed.

"Yo, Choco. Cheer up man," Anthony slightly punched Choco's arm. "You're back and life is good again."

"Why did you have to pull a gun on that guy," Choco asked, clearly frustrated.

"No one is going to insult Shaft and get away with it," Mike, the one who had the gun, replied.

"And that was a sad gig anyway," Josh, another member, added.

"It was my only source of money. How am I supposed to survive in New York now," he asked rhetorically.

"Don't worry man. We got you covered," Mike assured him. He had pulled a wad of dollar bills from his pocket.

"I don't want to be a part of that. And I thought you guys had stopped living that way," Choco asked suspiciously.

"Well, when we get a little short on dough there's no other way to go," Anthony chuckled at the rhyme. The others, obviously amused, chimed in. Choco rolled his eyes and sighed. He had nowhere else to go. This was his last resort, but it would have to do for now.

A month was passing by quickly and Choco stopped struggling against the ways of his gang. He didn't care anymore about himself or what happened to others. He had tried so hard to improve himself and look where it had gotten him. Back to where he started, alone and miserable in New York City with a gang that would do anything to get money. The shaman tournament had only been a good memory, but nothing more.

He watched silently from the getaway car as Anthony and Mike pointed guns at the cashier of the Seven-Eleven. They were probably telling him to hurry up and stuff the money in a bag. He didn't want to go along with this, but he needed food to survive. Within a few minutes they were out and he was speeding off down the road back to their hide out.

He wordlessly stood aside as the six members of the gang kicked a boy name Nicholas to the hard ground. They cussed and insulted him for no other reason then the pure pleasure of hurting someone weaker than them. Choco tried to stop them but they didn't listen. He felt guilt and shame in the pit of his stomach but ignored it and looked the other way as the gang continued with the beating.

What else could he do? No one but Shaft cared about him now. So he let it go. But the gnawing of guilt at his stomach grew deeper each day and at the end of the month he decided to go out into the world searching for a new life.

Choco sighed as he exited the decorated building. He had been looking for a new job ever since he got fired five months, well four months since he had to subtract the month that he had been depressed and unwilling to do anything. Living with his old gang wasn't as fun as it used to be and he hated being the one to ruin their "fun". Most of the things they did were just wrong and his interview could not have gone any worse. It was the eleventh one he'd had and he'd been turned down again. But as he took a deep breath, the happiness of the season brought his hopes up.

The streets were lit with colorful lights that seemed to hang in mid-air but were actually strung on dead trees. White snow covered the ground and everywhere you looked you could see decorated pine trees and signs of holiday festivities. But in a darker side of town an unfortunate man tried to escape the infamous Shaft gang.

"Hey man!" Anthony called from the street into the alley. "Where you going?" The man he had addressed turned and ran down the alley trying to get to the other side.

"Whoa. Not so fast now. We don't want to hurt you. We just want your wallet," Josh said, popping out from the dark and sounding as comforting as a thief can be.

"Please I don't want any trouble," the man's voice trembled with fear as four other men surrounded him.

"Wallet," Josh commanded. The man quickly pulled out his leather wallet and threw it at Josh's feet. Josh picked it up and frowned.

"There's only fifty bucks. And no credit cards or anything," Josh reported.

"Today is not your lucky day," Mike smirked and pulled out a gun, holding it up to the man's head.

"Please! Please! Don't kill me," the man begged pathetically for his life.

"Hey! What are you guys doing," a voice boomed from behind them. The six guys quickly looked up, shock written on all their faces.

"Oh, it's just Choco," Anthony chuckled with relief. The six of them turned back to their victim.

Choco's mind flashbacked to when he met Orona, his master. It was on that fateful Christmas eve when he finally found his dream of saving the world with the winds of laughter. He couldn't fail now. Not when he had come so far. He shouldn't have let the gang rob that convenience shop, or bully that kid until he couldn't stand. He should have stood strong and fought against them. He regretted not doing anything and now was his chance to get rid of a small amount of guilt that had been layered on his heart in the past five months.  
"Stop. I'm not going to let you guys do this," Choco warned angrily.

"Come on man. Stop playing around. This sucker's about to die and he deserves it," Mike reasoned with him. Choco shook his head integrated with Mic as he ran towards them. They were down in ten seconds flat and the first thought that crossed his mind was _'Ren would be proud.'_ Not that it mattered though.

The man created quite a ruckus as he stumbled away and brought Choco's mind back to reality. He picked up the wallet and ran after the man. Surprisingly the stranger didn't push him away and accuse him of robbery; instead they had a nice chat about life and joked around. It was the hardest Choco had laughed for almost half a year now. And when the man left him to go home, Choco smiled to himself. He finally had his dream back in full view. And nothing was going to come between that ever again.


End file.
